The opportunity for one such occasion arose when Assistant Professor Judith Hubbard and Professor Isaac Kerlow were invited by geography teachers from Nanyang Girls' High School to give a three-hour long seminar. They visited the school with goodies in tow for the students. Being experienced lecturers themselves, Asst. Prof Hubbard and Prof Kerlow were in their element, quickly engaging the class of 60 Secondary Two students.

The three-hour session kicked off with a lecture on earthquakes and tsunamis by Asst. Prof Hubbard. Among the topics discussed were earthquakes and their hazards, P- and S-waves, and how to identify an impending tsunami. Questions were encouraged, and several hands shot up as soon as it was announced that there was to be a gift for each student who asked a question.

Her lecture was followed by Prof Kerlow’s demonstration of Earth Girl 2, a strategy game on tsunami preparedness. After getting the hang of the game on the iPad, the students had a friendly competition, each contemplating the best way to maximise the use of the tools they had chosen at the start of the game with the amount of money allotted in each stage.

In this interactive game, players must make strategic decisions to increase the survival rate of those living in coastal communities by deploying the correct tools. The top three winners, determined by the number of villagers saved in each of the two stages played, received an Earth Girl USB drive and an exclusive T-shirt. The rest of the students were given other Earth Girl 2 souvenirs.

It was clear by the end of the session that the students had enjoyed themselves thoroughly. And, judging by the look on their faces, Asst. Prof Hubbard and Prof Kerlow were happy to have shared their knowledge of geoscience and tsunami preparedness with the students.